In the video below, by beating an anvil with a mallet, the Gothi summons the God, I suspect the smith God, Svarog, who might be considered in other European traditions to be Wayland or Hephaestus, and presumably other Gods, such as his Svarog’s son, Dažbog, or Helios, whose symbol we see on the European totem, as well. The Gothi then gives the boy initiate a sash, to underline his bond with the tribe, and holds up an offering, which he may offer as a libation.

Next, we see a scene of men dancing with swords by the light of the fire, the smoldering form of Dažbog, as a sort of moving mediation, in which they must mean to bring about a good future for the young man about to be honored with their intentions. Swords have more meaning as an offering if they first are initiated too, just as European horses once were ridden before a sacrifice, or as the maiden in the tale of the Rus ship funeral lies with the men who love the fallen comrade they honor, before she joins him on his journey to the next world.

The worshipers are waking up the Ancestors and creating a spiritual connection between the world of men and Gods in order to present this boy where all can see him, even the Sun itself. They seek to honor him as a man, setting him on the right course towards becoming a great warrior.

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The young man must draw the sword placed in the earth himself. He takes responsibility to act, like a grown man. This symbolic act is reminiscent of the young Welsh and British Arthur, who had the sacred blood of kings, pulling the sword from the stone, and proving his identity and virility, in order to become king. It is blood, real manliness, and goals achieved that prove one ready to rule.

So too is Theseus, son of Aegeus once said to have proven that he was the true son of his father by lifting a giant boulder, and taking up the sword and sandals left there for him by his father, King Aegeus, for the day he came of age.

Young Theseus lifts the great boulder to extract the sword left for him by his father while his mother, Aethra, watches. Photo Credit: Mary Evans

In the final scenes of this initiation in the Veleslava video, the young male initiate holds up the sword to the Sun, as a proclamation to all that he is now a man. By this ritual act, he is honoring and is swearing fealty to his people and the Gods. In return, the Gothi gives him a solar pendant, in hopes that the Gods and good fortune will be with him, and that he will have the strength and power of the Sun, like the great Perun, or Thor, whose masculine power is embodied by the lighting that comes from the Sun, and is symbolized by the holy swastika.

May we always honor our folk and Gods as our ancestors did, because this is what makes us who we were meant to be.